Old Clockwork Chris Kelly tolled 11 times at the Red Lion in Lincoln Square on Wednesday night, both turning in another board-topping performance as England and also getting the club back on schedule after a slow September. Game No. 393 ended by time limit after the Fall 1905 turn in the following center counts:

Our 14th season is winding down, which means we've been doing this a long time. And like any old show, we occasionally recycle story lines.

On Wednesday, it was the one about the last-minute cancellation that would have ruined the game if not for a timely text from a friend. Fortunately, rising star Cori Neslund was able to talk Bennett Kalsevic into driving out to the Red Lion in Lincoln Square to learn a game called Diplomacy. 

By 7:30 p.m., Game 392 was finally under way.  The players quickly made up for lost time. There was a brawl in the Western Mediterranean; an Austrian fleet build in 1901; R/T conflict; a Western Triple; the demise of the league leader; and, eventually, some impressive dot-jockeying in the final year of the game. Time was called after the Fall 1905 turn. The final center counts were: